Scott Templeton

Scott Templeton
First appearance	"More with Less" (episode 5.01)
Last appearance	"–30–" (episode 5.10)
Created by	David Simon
Portrayed by	Thomas McCarthy
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Reporter at The Baltimore Sun

M. Scott Templeton is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Thomas McCarthy. The actor joined the starring cast as the series' fifth season began.

Templeton is a young reporter who allows his extreme ambition to lead him to falsify stories. He has previously worked at the Wichita Eagle and the Kansas City Star. Templeton sees his current job as a general assignment reporter at The Baltimore Sun as a stepping stone to The Washington Post or New York Times. His prose is reflective of his personality and is often overwrought and exaggerated. Templeton's style is welcomed by Managing Editor Thomas Klebanow and Executive Editor James Whiting.

Templeton is involved with breaking a story about a drug dealer making campaign contributions and receiving profitable property deals in return. He finds his role of preparing background information dissatisfying, and he is dismissive of the paper as a whole to his colleague Alma Gutierrez. Nevertheless, Templeton is eager to write a follow-up story and requests the assignment from City Desk Editor Gus Haynes. Haynes denies the request as he has already given the story to city council reporter Jeff Price but encourages Templeton to continue seeking stories.

Templeton is part of a team led by Executive Editor James Whiting planning a series of articles about the problems with education. Templeton wins favor with Whiting when he backs his philosophy that the piece requires little context and should remain tightly focused on the schools themselves. Haynes unsuccessfully argues the alternative position—that more context increases the relevance and effectiveness of any story.

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Wikipedia